1. Field of Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to indirect evaporator cooler systems, and more particularly to a water collection system for an indirect evaporative cooler configured to spray water on a heat exchanger of the indirect evaporative cooler.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Indirect air evaporative cooling systems typically use outdoor air to indirectly cool data center air when the outside temperature is lower than the temperature set point of the IT inlet air, which can result in significant energy savings. Such systems use fans to blow cold outside air across an air-to-air heat exchanger, which in turn cools the hot data center air on the inside of the heat exchanger, thereby completely isolating the data center air from the outside air. This heat removal method normally uses an evaporative assist, in which the outside of the air-to-air heat exchanger is sprayed with water, which further lowers the temperature of the outside air and thus the hot data center air. Indirect air evaporative cooling systems can provide cooling capacities up to about 1,000 kilowatts (kW). Most units are roughly the size of a shipping container or larger. These systems mount either on a building roof or along a perimeter of the building.
Using fresh air directly to cool a data center is often viewed as the most efficient cooling approach. For data centers experiencing a wide range of temperature and humidity conditions, this cooling approach is often the most efficient. However, the majority of data center managers are risk-averse to higher temperatures and rapid changes in temperature and humidity. With rising densities and the adoption of containment practices, it is undesirable to allow IT equipment to run at higher temperatures, especially if a failure event occurs. When temperature and humidity thresholds are kept within industry-recommended limits, indirect air economizers actually provide greater efficiency than direct fresh air.
With modern indirect evaporative cooling systems, hot IT air is pulled into a cooling module, and one of two modes of economizer operation is used to eject the heat. Based on the load, the IT set point, and outdoor environmental conditions, the system automatically selects the most efficient mode of operation. The indirect air-to-air economization mode uses an air-to-air heat exchanger to transfer the heat energy from the hotter data center air to the colder outdoor air. When evaporative cooling is used, water is sprayed over the heat exchanger to reduce the surface temperature of the exchanger. By spraying water on the heat exchanger, the air temperature is reduced close to the wet bulb temperature of the outdoor air. This mode of operation allows the data center to continue to benefit from economizer mode operation, even when the air-to-air heat exchanger alone is unable to reject the data center heat load.
In one known system, a water collection system of the indirect evaporative cooler includes a matrix of troughs having four or more rows and twenty or more columns is provided for collecting water that is sprayed within an indirect evaporative cooler on the heat exchangers. Each trough is installed individually and sealed, thereby creating a very high piece count and high labor burden to manage complexity. Additionally, since the matrix of troughs is typically a welded assembly that requires a higher skill set for assembly.